A Fate Worse Than Death: Indian Captivities in the West 1830-1885 by Gregory Michno, Susan Michno
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Book Summary Author: Gregory Michno, Susan Michno Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2007-10 ISBN: 0870044516 Number of pages: 552 Publisher: Caxton Press |
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Book Reviews of the A Fate Worse Than Death: Indian Captivities in the West 1830-1885
Customer Review: Good Research -- Antidote to Romantic Illusions
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me recommend this quite readable and appropriately titled book to anyone who desires to become acquainted with some real, documented, quantified, substantive research about the history of trans-Mississippi Indian captivities, while simultaneously getting a much-needed injection of hardcore historical reality to counter the plethora of romantic, sentimental, and "politically correct" nonsense that burdens the shelves of contemporary bookstores.
With hardly any exceptions (aside from the extraordinary case of Cynthia Ann Parker, and perhaps a handful of others), it appears that being captured by Indians (especially if you were a female who had either approached or attained the age of puberty, and you were not otherwise too old or ugly!) amounted to a truly grim ordeal -- literally "a fate worse than death". And, most captives, who were apparently abused day and night (beaten, raped, starved, and tortured) and treated like dirty slaves, were more than eager to return to "civilization" when they had an opportunity. It all makes you suspect that the all too common notions of being taken captive and learning to cherish the wild and free life among the "noble savages" are, for the most part, romantic illusions, and that characters (such as the Caucasian woman who lived with the Souix as an adopted member of the tribe in "Dances With Wolves" -- by the way, a movie I really enjoyed) bear little resemblance to the harsh reality.
Beyond all that, the research presented in this book by the Michnos brings to light the sheer scope and scale of the Indian captivity problem that once prevailed out West. Apparently, many hundreds, and even thousands, of settlers either directly experienced or lived in fear of such an eventuality.